Random Best Movies That Were Originally Panned by Critics (23 items)

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  (#19) All About Eve

  • Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Thelma Ritter, Celeste Holm, Gregory Ratoff, Walter Hampden, Hugh Marlowe, Barbara Bates, Gary Merrill, Barbara White, Craig Hill, Randy Stuart, Leland Harris

  As one reviewer said, “The [witchiest] fabrication since Mrs. Luce’s The Women. It is not true, as you may have heard, that All About Eve is a great picture and proof that Hollywood has grown up overnight. Its highly polished, often witty surface hides an unenterprising plot and some preposterous human behavior.” – Richard Hatch, The New Republic
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  (#11) Apocalypse Now

  • Marlon Brando, Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Francis Ford Coppola, R. Lee Ermey, Scott Glenn, Colleen Camp, Cynthia Wood, Bill Graham, Frederic Forrest, G. D. Spradlin, Sam Bottoms, Roman Coppola, James Keane, Vittorio Storaro, Albert Hall, Christian Marquand, Tom Mason, Aurore Clément, Jim Gaines, Marc Coppola, Gian-Carlo Coppola, Evan A. Lottman, Jerry Ziesmer, Jack Thibeau, Damien Leake, Kerry Rossall, Jerry Ross, Franck Villard, Henry Strzalkowski, Nick Nicholson, Glenn Walken, Herb Rice, Linda Carpenter, Don Gordon Bell, George Cantero, Linn Phillips, Bo Byers, Ron McQueen, David Olivier, Pierre Segui, William Upton, Larry Carney, Dick White, Gilbert Renkens, Chrystel Le Pelletier, Robert Julian, Lonnie 'Lono' Woodley, Henri Sadardeil, Hattie James, Father Elias, Daniel Kiewit, Michel Pitton, Yvon LeSeaux

  This one got mixed reviews. While some praised it, Frank Rich in Time said, "While much of the footage is breathtaking, Apocalypse Now is emotionally obtuse and intellectually empty."
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  (#9) Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

  • Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Roy Kinnear, Pat Coombs, Stephen Dunne, Victor Beaumont, David Battley, Aubrey Woods, Denise Nickerson, Angelo Muscat, Leonard Stone, Günter Meisner, Nora Denney, Peter Capell, Frank Delfino, Ed Peck, Albert Wilkinson, Julie Dawn Cole, George Claydon, Paris Themmen, Peter Ostrum, Gloria Manon, Werner Heyking, Michael Bollner, Rusty Goffe, Ursula Reit, Dora Altmann, Marcus Powell, Shin Hamano, Jack Latham, Malcolm Dixon, Franziska Liebing, Kurt Großkurth, Ernst Ziegler, Diana Sowle, Michael Gahr, Bob Roe, Peter Stuart, Ismed Hassan, Madeline Stuart, Pepe Poupee, Norman McGlen, Rudy Borgstaller

  The 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory made a modest amount at the box office, but critics hated how it deviated from the source material. Author Roald Dahl even disowned the movie in protest to the changes that were made to the story.

  Over time, thanks to repeated showings on television and strong home media sales, it became more of a hit and is now thought to be a quintessential family film.
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  (#20) Selena

  • Jennifer Lopez, Constance Marie, Edward James Olmos, Alex Meneses, Jon Seda, Lupe Ontiveros, Jacob Vargas, Seidy López, Jackie Guerra, Gil Glasgow, Sal Lopez, Gail Cronauer, Joe Stevens, Jeff Dylan Graham, Barbara Petricini-Buxton, Richard Coca, Panchito Gomez, Larry Cashion, Rick Olmos, León Singer, Ricky Vela, Erick Carrillo, John Verea, Marta Flores, George Perez, Don Cass, Lori Berlanga, Frank Mendez, Raven Kaylor, Andie X, Everett Sifuentes, Cora Cardona, Rueben Gonzales, Xavier Ramirez, Tom Christopher, Bel Hernandez, Molly Moroney, Pete Astudillo, Ray Melendez, Victoria Elena Flores, Valerio Longoria, Sr., Donnie Neubauer, Marc Kenneth Robinson, Marcos Padilla, Terry Elena Ordaz, Desi McGill, Mark Carrillo, Darline Tigrett, Elisabeth Gonzalez, Michael Guerrero, Carmen Martínez, Carl William Holler, Richard Iglesias, Ronald Gonzales, Don Shelton, Elia Ortiz, Keith Kaslow, Michelle McManus, Richard Emanuelle, Marika Baca, Philip Raybourn, Peter P. Montejano, Leonardo Martinez, Jason Bradley Jacobs, Richard William Hughes, Nicole Young, Fernando Cubillas, Francisco J. De La Fuente, Amin Mery, Rafael Tamayo, Rebecca Lee Meza, Chris Doughton, Brian Fallteen

  The 1997 movie Selena, which told the life story of singer Selena Quintanilla, featured Jennifer Lopez’s breakout role and turned out to be a big box office success. But the biopic received mixed reviews. Many critics praised Lopez's performance and the musical numbers, while taking issue with the lack of character development and the thin plot.
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  (#18) Once Upon a Time in the West

  • Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards Jr., Keenan Wynn, Jack Elam, Woody Strode, Lionel Stander, Don Galloway, Robert Hossein, Aldo Sambrell, Gabriele Ferzetti, Fabio Testi, Benito Stefanelli, Frank Wolff, Paolo Stoppa, Ricardo Palacios, Frank Braña, Antonio Molino Rojo, Lorenzo Robledo, Al Mulock, Spartaco Conversi, Robert Spafford, Dino Mele, Conrado San Martín, Claudio Mancini, Bruno Corazzari, Renato Pinciroli, Claudio Scarchilli, Aldo Berti, Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia, Luukialuana Kalaeloa Strode, John Merrick, Francesca Leone, Salvatore Basile, Frank Leslie, Saturno Cerra, Raffaella Leone, Marco Zuanelli, Paolo Figlia, Enzo Santaniello, Simonetta Santaniello, Michael Harvey, Tullio Palmieri, Livio Andronico, Luigi Magnani, Marilù Carteny, Umberto Morsella, Enrico Morsella, Stefano Imparato, Sandra Salvatori, Dino Zamboni, Luigi Ciavarro

  Initially receiving negative reviews, Once Upon a Time in the West has gained an ardent cult following around the world, particularly among cinéastes and filmmakers. In the 1970s, it was re-evaluated by many young filmmakers and critics, many of whom called it a masterpiece.

  "The movie stretches on for nearly three hours, with intermission, and provides two false alarms before it finally ends." – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
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  (#4) Fight Club

  • Brad Pitt, Jared Leto, Helena Bonham Carter, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Eion Bailey, Lauren Sánchez, David Lee Smith, Edward Kowalczyk, Holt McCallany, Zach Grenier, Bob Stephenson, Christina Cabot, David Andrews, Brian Tochi, Matt Winston, Ezra Buzzington, Carl Ciarfalio, Tim De Zarn, Jim Jenkins, Richmond Arquette, Philip Hawn, Leonard Termo, Thom Gossom Jr., Charlie Dell, David Jean Thomas, Paul Dillon, Michael Shamus Wiles, Stuart Blumberg, Marcio Rosario, Pat McNamara, Michael Arturo, Markus Redmond, Tommy Dallace, Rachel Singer, George Maguire, Robby Robinson, Paul Carafotes, Peter Iacangelo, Joel Bissonnette, Christopher John Fields, Scotch Ellis Loring, Eugenie Bondurant, Eddie Hargitay, Kevin Scott Mack, Mark Fite, Evan Mirand, Sydney 'Big Dawg' Colston, Bennie Moore, Chad Randau, Lou Beatty Jr., Matt Cinquanta, Joon B. Kim, Michael Girardin, Christie Cronenweth, Baron Jay, Hugh Peddy, Tyrone R. Livingston, Andi Carnick, Owen Masterson, Rob Lanza, Van Quattro, Trey Ore, Jawara, Gregory Silva, Valerie Bickford, Alekxia Valdez, J.T. Pontino, Dierdre Downing-Jackson, Anderson Bourell, Todd Peirce, Louis Ortiz

  New York Daily News called Fight Club “hardly groundbreaking,” the Miami Herald referred to it as “a bit of a dud,” and the Boston Globe said that its “chic indictment of empty materialist values fizzles.”

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